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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMax Verstappen will start the Nurburgring 24 hour from fourth. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMax Verstappen will start the Nurburgring 24 hour from fourth. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
The #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry secured a second-row start after Daniel Juncadella delivered an 8m12.005s in Top Qualifying 3, leaving the team less than a second away from pole in a tightly contested final session.<\/p>\n
Pole position ultimately went to the #84 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini, with Luca Engstler setting an 8m11.123s to lead a Lamborghini one-two ahead of the sister car driven by Marco Mapelli.<\/p>\n
The qualifying format at the Nordschleife is split into multiple knockout stages, with Qualifying 1, 2 and 3 used to set positions further down the order, while Top Qualifying 1, 2 and 3 determines the front of the grid.<\/p>\n
Each car must also nominate different drivers for each session, adding a further layer of strategy to the shootout.<\/p>\n
Verstappen Racing began the decisive phase with Lucas Auer in Top Qualifying 1, where he successfully progressed the car into TQ2 by securing a position inside the top 20 required to advance.<\/p>\n
That handed the car to Verstappen for Top Qualifying 2, where the four-time Formula 1 world champion needed to finish inside the top seven to reach the final session.<\/p>\n
He delivered exactly that, setting an 8m11.614s lap to place sixth and move the car into the pole-deciding shootout.<\/p>\n
From there, Juncadella took over for Top Qualifying 3, with the Spaniard tasked with two flying laps to fight for a front-row start.<\/p>\n
His opening effort of 8m18.537s initially left the #3 Mercedes outside the leading contenders, more than six seconds off the benchmark set by the early pace of the Lamborghinis.<\/p>\n
However, on his second and final attempt, Juncadella found significant improvement to climb the order, briefly moving as high as second on the timing screens as sectors turned purple across the lap.<\/p>\n
As the final runners completed their attempts, however, he was eventually pushed back to fourth, just under a second away from pole position as Lamborghini underlined its pace advantage.<\/p>\n
The Italian marque dominated the session, with Engstler leading Mapelli in a 1-2 for the #84 and #7 entries, while Christopher Haase placed the #16 Scherer Sport Audi in third after a lap just 0.861s off pole.<\/p>\n
Thomas Neubauer completed the top five in the #45 Kondo Racing Ferrari, rounding out a competitive top group separated by small margins around the demanding Nordschleife layout.<\/p>\n
Despite narrowly missing out on pole, Verstappen\u2019s squad remains firmly in the mix heading into the 24-hour endurance race, having progressed cleanly through all stages of the qualifying format.<\/p>\n
The race begins at 3pm local time (11pm AEST) on Saturday.<\/p>\n
How to watch Max Verstappen\u2019s Nurburgring 24 debut<\/a><\/p>\n